Falling Skies in a World of Stars
by jasmineclaireff
Summary: Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon are just a pair of teenage witches trying to get through Hogwarts. Trying to get through a changing world, where the sky is falling down on those who shine brightly, and whose time in this world of stars is short. Dual POV
1. Chapter 1 Marlene

**So, this is Claire, and I'll be writing Marlene for you guys! **

**Disclaimer-We don't own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 1-Marlene's POV**

I flopped down on my unmade bed and heaved a heavy sigh; the pile of stuff on the floor just seemed to grow bigger.

"Marlene? Are you finished packing yet? We have to leave in an hour!"

"I know Mum! I'm almost done!" I called back. I surveyed the mess on the floor. My trunks were almost packed and I had all my essentials packed; robes, books, cauldron, but now for the random items on the floor. I picked up an old quill, I know I shouldn't bring it, but it was the first quill I'd ever passed notes to Lily with! That was a big deal!

"_Marlene! Shhh, we're suppose to be listening and taking notes" 12 year old Lily Evens hissed behind her hand toward her friend._

"_Yes Lily, taking notes! I wrote notes and now all you have to do is take it!" Marlene smiled innocently as she waved a folded piece of parchment discreetly in Lily's direction. Lily sighed, then after a quick glance at the rambling professor, snatched the note from Marlene's outstretched hand._

I laughed to myself, oh Lily. And with that thought I tossed the quill into the trunk.

I stared down at the pile of stuff and tried to make some sense of it: a stethoscope, some old sugar quills, dungbombs, famous faces smiling up at me on chocolate frog cards. This was ridiculous. I closed my eyes grabbed a handful of stuff off the ground and through it in the trunk, then slammed the lid shut. I then proceeded to shove the rest of it back under the bed; flopping back down on my bed I gave another sigh, this time in relief.

My fifth year at Hogwarts, bleh OWLs. I am really not looking forward to OWLs, I'd rather not spend the year worrying about my future and just take each day as it comes. I don't know; relax by the great lake or something. Not that I wouldn't do that anyways, but I don't need Professor McGonagall being on me to study harder! My grades are pretty good as they are, not to brag. I reached over and grabbed my purple pillow, hugging it to my side.

**Meow?**I glanced down at Saela, her lithe body stretched out beside me, and her bright green/gold eyes examining me. "Oh Saela, where does the time go?" I thought to myself as I scratched my cat behind her soft dark ears.

Saela had been a gift from Lily last year after my previous pet, an owl named Jasper, had passed on.

Lily Evans is my best friend in the whole world. I grinned. Lily is absolutely gorgeous; the deep red locks that fell around her shoulders accented startling green eyes. At 5'4 she's about 6 inches shorter then me, and has a slender frame. Lily's skin is pale, prone to burning quickly, and she had a light sprinkling of freckles across her face. She has pretty good upper body strength from hauling around tons of books all day. She is definitely one of the smartest students I know, and by far the sweetest. Lily puts others first, but has a fiery temper in contrast. She's never afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right and has an incredibly strong sense of loyalty. Lily Evans. The best friend any girl could ever have.

"Marlene Victoria MckKinnon! Hurry! Time to go! Your brother and I will be in the car!"

"OKAY Mother!" I rolled my eyes and quickly coaxed Saela into her cat carrier, "Come on baby girl! Time for another exciting year at Hogwarts"


	2. Chapter 2 Lily

**A/N: So, this is Jasmine :) I'm going to be writing Lily for you guys. Please bear with me, as she is a new character for me to write :) **

**Chapter 2:**

**Lily's POV**

OWL year. The prospect of the exams was the most frightening thing I had ever face in my fifteen years of life. Tests that would determine the rest of my life, what I would do, where I would go, what difference I would make. Marlene would be yelling at me to stop worrying, that we haven't even started school yet. But that's the thing. School starts today. Well, tomorrow technically but today we have the train ride.

And if the whole OWL's fiasco wasn't enough, I've been made Prefect (what was Dumbledore thinking?), lost my badge, and all of my school things that I should be packing are littered around my room. If you couldn't gather it from all of that, I'm quite disorganized. Yet another thing Marlene bugs me about.

Marlene McKinnon is my absolute best friend in the entire universe. She's also nearly perfect. Marlene is 5'10'', with a model's body and super toned from all her Quidditch practice (she's a Chaser.) She was blessed with the most perfect, long, wavy golden blonde hair you've ever seen and deep navy blue eyes accompanied by a killer tan. And if looking perfect wasn't enough, she's smart without trying, super confident and loves flirting.

You could say she's the perfect package. And she's been an awesome best friend. Especially when you consider that she's pureblooded and I'm a muggleborn. Two words that define a large portion of my life.

You see, there's a large difference between the two. I come from a non magical family, and therefore am muggleborn. Or, more often, a mudblood. Purebloods come from all magic families. Many of these purebloods feel that they are better than muggleborns due to their heritage. Those are the people that ruin Hogwarts for me. Along with Potter and his gang, the "Marauders". What a stupid nickname. Of course, Remus is actually quite a nice boy once separated from the rest of them. With sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, he's quite the catch to any girl at Hogwarts who could reel him in. But he never goes out with anyone, mostly due to his "furry little problem", which truthfully isn't as well hidden as he'd like to think, as I had it figured out by the middle of second year. He's a werewolf, and I've told him time and time again that it doesn't change a thing. He insists it's different because I'm muggleborn.

My sister's screeching brought me out of my reminiscing.

"Owls! Bloody birds flying through the house!" I grinned and ran down the stairs, taking two at a time. I entered our little kitchen to find my crazy sister waving her arms above her head, screaming like the psycho that she was, perfect blonde hair wild and out of her perfect ponytail. Ha. That's was she gets for being a complete witch to me.

I smiled at Rowena as she landed gracefully on the table in front of me. Rowena was my gorgeous barn owl. I had named her because Rowena Ravenclaw was the first witch I had ever heard of who had done something great.

I gently untied the letter from her leg and with one look, tossed it in the trash. My sister gaped at me.

"Potter." Was all the reply needed. Petunia hated Potter, if this was even possible, more than I did. He "visited" me last summer. Lets just say he made Petunia reconsider just how much of a freak I was.

"Lily, dear, are you all packed?" My mum walked into the kitchen, hands full of clean blankets. I shuffled my feet, staring at the ground. She sighed. "Lily, we leave in two hours. Go finish your packing!" I grinned at her and sprinted back up the stairs. Still in my pajamas, I threw on a pair of dark blue jeans and a 3/4 sleeved cream colored top with horizontal navy blue stripes.

I wrinkled my nose at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess. It was really long, and turned into loose ringlets about half way down. And I couldn't have had a normal hair color like brown or blonde. No, I got stuck with red hair. And not a more common orange or strawberry-blonde. No, bright red. Like, the color of red roses kind of red. I ran a brush through it and quickly braided it back. I rubbed at my nose irritably. It was red, sunburnt, because I had spent twenty minutes helping Mum with the garden outside. My pale skin sunburns easily. It also freckles easily, as you could see from just glancing at me. I'm freckly. Marlene says they're cute. I say they're annoying. I swiped on some mascara and went back to shoving all my school stuff into my trunk.

Once it was all (miraculously) inside I slipped my feet into a pair of tan t-strip sandals with dark blue accents, grabbed my trunk, shoved my badge (which had been hiding under my pile of clothes) into my pocket along with my wand, and dragged everything downstairs.

"Mum? Ready to go?" I called. She rushed into the room, fussing over me for a moment before shooing me into the car, pushing Petunia in after me and pestering Dad to hurry up and start the car already. His bright green eyes caught my own identical ones in the mirror. He grinned at me and started the car.

Dad and I were most alike in our family. Clumsy, stubborn, quick tempered and loyal. At least, those were the traits I saw in him and the things the Sorting Hat saw in me. We also were the most laid back, while Mum and Petunia stressed over the smallest things and freaked out easily. I may be easily overwhelmed, but nothing like the two of them.

We pulled up to the station and parked the car, Mum hurriedly pulling out my luggage and pushing us all along. The station was crowded, filled to the brim with people from all over, all with places to go, people to see, and no time to do it. It seemed like a constant battle against the many currents of people flowing this way and that, but we eventually made it to the barrier.

Dad grabbed onto my cart and we took it at a run. And through the barrier we went, and into the world of magic.


	3. Chapter 3 Marlene

**Chapter 3:**

"Marlene!" I whipped around to see Lily rushing towards me, her red hair flying behind her.

"AH! Lily!" I shrieked and dropped my bags and hugged her tightly, "I missed you so much! Congratulations on making prefect!"

Lily rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue, "I don't know what Professor Dumbledore is thinking…"

"That you are the smartest girl in our year?"

"That was rhetorical, Mar."

"Of course it was; why do you think I answered!" Lily laughed and hugged me again, "Oh, Marlene, you have no idea how much I missed you!" I winked back at her.

"Okay Lilykins! Time to hop aboard the Hogwarts Express! We have to grab a good compartment!" I took her arm and started to rush onto the train, but once we got on and I began dragging her down the long hallway, she resisted. "What's wrong Lily?"

"I'm sorry Mar, I have to sit with the other prefects, remember?" I gaped at her. No I did Not remember. "But Lily! We always sit together…" I pouted.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice! No, don't give me that look, I'll see you later, okay?" with that, Lily turned around and began walking down the hall. I cursed under my breath and started searching for an empty compartment.

I finally found one and plopped down on the seat and suddenly found myself drifting off to sleep.

"Well well! Look what we have here! The princess is asleep!" from the depths of my slumber I could here someone snickering. The voice sounded very familiar…"The question is Prongs… what should we do? Wake her up so she can entertain us? Or let her sleep?" Sirius Black. An idea formed in my head.

"Wake her up of course! She's no fun asleep!" James Potter.

"Alright mate! Go wake her up!" I heard footsteps coming toward me, and shifted into a better position that would allow my plan to go smoothly. The footsteps stopped. "Is she…?"

"GO, she's still asleep!" That's right, keep coming closer… I felt a hand on my shoulder, then opened my eyes and pounced. HI YAW! "AHHH!" The two boys screamed. I threw my head back and laughed; then I looked down at the boy I was sitting on. "Hello Jamesie!" I snickered.

"Bloody Hell Marlene!" He struggled from underneath me, "Hey Sirius? Can I get some help here please?"

"Oh right, sorry mate," Suddenly two hands started tickling my sides, causing me to fall on my side in an attempt to get away. 

"Okay! Truce! Truce!" The tickling stopped and I glared at the two boys. They just grinned back. "So Marlene, where's Evans?" James asked, Sirius snorted, earning him a jab in the side. I rolled my eyes, "She's sitting with the other prefects of course," Sirius nodded,

"That's where Moony is too,"

"Of course," I snorted and James laughed with me. The two boys settled down in the seat across from me,

"Anything off the trolley dears?" The kind old trolley lady stopped by our compartment and I looked at the boys. "Boys?" James looked at the old lady;

"I would like three chocolate frogs, and a packet of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans yes that's it I believe!" He handed her the money in exchange for the candy, "Anyone else want anything?" I stared at James blankly. Sirius stared at James blankly. James smiled and thanked the lady and then turned around to notice us staring at him. "What?"

"Why didn't you just take the whole thing," Sirius stuck out his tongue.

"Shut up Padfoot! I'm hungry!"

"No really now…" James sighed then ripped open the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and popped one in his mouth.

"GAH!" He spit the bean out, "Boogie…" Sirius fell over holding his sides and laughing, and I smiled at them. Sirius calmed down some and managed to sit back up on the seat and since I had nothing else to do, I studied my two friends. James's black hair, as usual, was sticking up in the back and his hazel eyes glittered behind his glasses. I'd known James and Sirius for years because of quidditch and we were all pretty good friends, despite James's constant need to harass Lily. I smiled at James who was talking loudly with Sirius. Sirius. His hair had fallen in his face covering his deep grey eyes. Wow. He had really pretty eyes… I leaned further forward in my seat suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to push the hair out of his face and…

"Hi guys! Marlene what are you doing?" My head whipped towards the voice

"Lily! Remus! Wha… What are you doing here?" I stood up and rushed over to hug Lily.

"We have to patrol the corridors. It's part of being a prefect," Remus explained.

"REMUS!" I tackled him in a hug too.

"Hello Marlene," he chuckled, "It's nice to see you too; so what have you three been up too?" Remus joined James and Sirius, and Lily plopped down next to me.

"Hey Evans, you're sure you don't want to sit next to me?"

"Never in a million years Potter," Lily stuck out her tongue.

The Hogwarts Express finally reached the school and we all tumbled off the train. When we finally reached the Great Hall and the sorting had finished, Lily and I said hi to some old friends. Lily whispered she'd be right back and ran off. Probably to say hi to Severus. I love Lily but that boy creeps me out. I plopped down next to Sirius who was in deep conversation with Hannah Smith and punched him in the arm,

"What do you want Marlene, can't you see I'm busy?" he hissed at me, I rolled my eyes and turned instead to talk to James.

"So Jamesie, did you practice over the summer? You were a little off last year," I winked.

"Bloody Hell Marlene! How many times do I have to tell you? I was growing quickly and it through me off balance! I only flew into you once!"

"Whatever you say Potter," I smiled, "This year is going to be great though, I got a new broom!" I smiled at him knowingly. His eyes widened, I knew he'd understand.

"No way… the…the…" his voice dropped.

"Of Course! My parents decided that since I'd been such a good girl I should receive a new broom," His jaw dropped.

"McKinnon I hate you,"

"No you don't,"

"Yeah I know," we laughed and then out of the corner of my eye a flash of red smacked me in the face.

"Lily!"

"Oh sorry Marlene!" I rubbed my cheek,

"Its fine…" I smiled at her.

"How's Snivellius, Evans?" James's smile had dropped off his face and he had a sarcastic smirk on his face. Lily just ignored him, James opened his mouth again but then Dumbledore began his yearly speech. I tuned him out and stared at my reflection in my plate. In my peripheral view I could see Sirius still heavily flirting with that Hannah Smith, so I turned my head to examine his actions. Who the hell did he think he was talking during Professor Dumbledore's talk? Why on earth does she think that Sirius will actually stay interested in her for more then 30 seconds? Sirius has the attention span of a puppy! He should be focused on other things, not that Girl! I mean…

"McKinnon!" Sirius slapped my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, can I help you Sirius?" I sniffed.

"You were staring at me!"

"Don't flatter yourself Black! I was listening to Dumbledore!"

"You were not, he stopped talking 5 minutes ago, besides the foods out and you haven't even touched it yet. I thought you, James, Remus, and I were having an eating competition again! They already started and you've just been staring at me," His face had an exasperated look on mixed with… curiosity?

"Sirius, I was Not staring at you! God, I think your huge ego is getting even bigger if that's possible. Whatever it is, it's clouding your vision,"

"Go to hell Marlene"

"Black you're here. I'm already there," I retorted. He rolled his eyes and began talking to Jonathan Corner.

"Marlene what was that all about?" Remus asked me, "Usually you and Sirius get along better," I looked across the table, smiled apologetically at my friend. James looking curiously between us. Lily, luckily, was involved in a conversation with Alice.

"Sorry Remus, I'm just a little tired after the train ride and Sirius's narcissism was getting to me," Remus gave me a look that said plainly, he didn't believe me. But it's true. It had to be, right? Sighing, I grabbed some food off the endless platters on the table, and took up conversation with Nearly Headless Nick who had conveniently floated by.


	4. Chapter 4 Lily

**A****/****N****: ****C****'****mon****, ****guys****! ****We****need****some****reviews****if****chapters****are****going****to****be****coming****out****! :)**

**Chapter**** 4: ****Lily**

The bright morning sun streaming from the window and through the curtains around my bed woke me up. I grinned at the prospect of new classes, new lessons, and new essays. Call me crazy, but the sound of a quill scratching on a fresh sheet of parchment was music to my ears. I slipped out of bed quietly, as to not wake my night-owl roommates, who wouldn't but up for an hour yet. My clock blinked 6:00, and I revelled in the quiet and calm as I grabbed a clean uniform from my bag, as well as my beg of toiletries and headed into the miraculously empty bathrooms.

After a quick shower, I slipped into the familiar crisp white button up shirt, tie with thin red and gold stripes, v-neck sweater with my house colors on the neckline, and a grey pleated skirt. I wrinkled my nose at myself in the mirror, running a brush through my dripping wet hair, and sending a quick drying spell at it with my wand. I left it down, pinning a few strands back, before smearing on some shimmering eyeshadow and a swipe of mascara.

I crept back into the room to see Alice Prewett, my second favorite roommate (second to Marlene.) The tiny blond quickly dressed as I slipped into a pair of comfortable black flats, slipped into my robes and pinned my Prefect badge on them proudly. We then grabbed our bags and quickly headed down the stairs.

"So, how're you and Frank?" I finally burst out, finally safe from my cranky-if-woken roommates and downstairs, where we could finally talk. I spoke of Alice's boyfriend, Frank Longbottom. They had been best friends since first year, and liked each other since third. At the end of last year, he had finally asked her out.

"Oh, he's simply amazing." She gushed as we walked by Black and Potter, lazily sprawled out on the couches. "You wouldn't believe how sweet he's been!" I nodded along, listening intently as she told me all about her relationship on our way to the Great Hall. Alice had always been there to listen when I needed to talk, just as when Alice needed girl time, Marlene and I had been there.

I tried to ignore the familiar feeling of being watched as Potter and Black loped behind us, and foolishly continued to ignore my sense of foreboding as we entered the Great Hall. I kept in the scream that was valiantly trying to rip itself from my lungs as something fell from the ceiling, coating me in something cold and gooey. I wiped it off my face with a hand, and looked down to see myself completely covered in clear goop. I looked at Alice to see that her hair had turned scarlet, and her skin looked gold. I whipped around, glaring daggers at Potter and Black. They grinned, Potter's grin infuriatingly crooked.

"POTTER!" I screeched. "IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF LESSONS AND YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A BIG HEADED GIT, COULDN'T YOU NOT BE IMMATURE FOR A SINGLE DAY?" I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Professor McGonagall. My face flushed red.

"That will be enough, Miss Evans." With a flick of her wand, Alice and I were clean, she placed our schedules in our hands and shooed us back to our seats before turning back around to lecture the ringleaders of the "Marauders".

We had settled down, and I had just buttered my toast and drawn myself a glass of pumpkin juice when Marlene stumbled into the hall, blond hair messy (yet still somehow perfect,) black eyeliner rimming tired navy eyes. I shook my head at how she could manage to walk in her five inch heeled death trap stilettos, skirt hiked up to mid thigh, shirt sleeves rolled up and robes hanging off her shoulders.

She slumped into the empty seat next to me, piling everything in her reach onto her plate and shoving it into her mouth. Alice and I shared a disgusted look, but didn't say anything. It was simply Marlene. Once she had finally finished eating, she motioned for us to lay out our schedules.

"Holy Merlin, Lils!" Marlene exclaimed, eyes wide as she looked over my schedule. I sniffed. It wasn't _that_much.

Mondays and Wednesdays I had Charms, Herbology, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures. Tuesdays and Thursdays I had History of Magic, Potions, Ancient Runes and a free period, with Astronomy at night. Fridays I had a free period, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and another free period.

I snatched Marlene and Alice's schedules, quickly glancing them over.

"We have all the basics together," I told them, "but you both have a free period while I have Arithmancy, the same with Ancient Runes, and Marlene, you didn't take Astronomy." Alice shook her head at me.

"And _I_thought this year was going to be hard. Look at how many OWL's you'll be taking!" I rolled my eyes and she gave my a look, but had to quickly move on as we had to get to Charms.

The first day of classes raced by with little homework assigned, a pop quiz in Charms, and a few small fights with Potter. Curioully enough, I wasn't the only one fighting a Marauder, now. It seemed Marlene and Sirius weren't on good terms at the moment.

We were walking back up to the castle after Care of Magical Creature with Professor Kettleburn, still wiping dirt off from the ground where we had been trying to find some worm-like creature. I wasn't very much interested in it, but the prospect of working with unicorns next week put me in a good mood.

"But, I mean, really? Quidditch try outs already? I mean, I love the sport and all, but that means five am practices almost every day for the rest of the year!" Mar was ranting on about Potter and quidditch. Neither of which I was particularly fond of, but the rest of the school did not share my disposition on. I nodded along mutely, musing over my day and the next days lessons. Admittedly, my thoughts may have also drifted to a certain handsome Hufflepuff by the name of Amos Diggory.

Amos Diggory was Sirius Black's only non-Marauder competition. Perhaps because he was Black's complete opposite. Amos was tall, and sturdy, which was where his and Black's similarities ended. Whereas Black's skin was a dark tan, Amos had a glowing golden complexion. Amos' baby blues opposite Black's sharp grey's. Where Black was all dramatic angles, Amos was charismatically gentle planes. And it wasn't just their looks. Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, polite, rude, humble, cocky, gentleman, playboy. I could go on forever.

But, in short, Amos Diggory was your dream guy, the guy you bring home to meet your parents and settle down with. Sirius Black was that fantasy you know not to try and make real.

And Amos had been in Arithmancy with me, sat next to me to be specific, and we had the most heart-fluttering, blushing red, stomach turning conversation of my life. But maybe that was just me being me: utterly hopeless when it comes to the male species.

We reached the Great Hall and I caught said boy's eye. He grinned and gave a slight wave, winking at me before turning back around to his dinner and friends. Mar gave a loud squeal and dragged me to our seats.

"What was that?" She hissed, nearly bouncing in her seat. I shrugged.

"He sat next to me in Arithmancy!" I told her, shrugging as she glared.

"That's not _all_and you know that! It's Amos Diggory, Lily! Amos bloody Diggory! _THE_Amos Diggory!" I rolled my eyes at her but a smile tugged at the corner of my lips, and I could feel the beginnings of a blush staining my cheeks a pale pink. Mar squealed again and I let the smile grow on my face for a moment until I caught Potter's eye from a few seats down on the other side of the table.

Hazel met green for one curious second, but long enough for me to snap my eyes back to Marlene, and to fervently deny any such blushing when she questioned me and asked, incredulously, if Potter and I had had "a _moment_". I rolled my eyes at her and told Mar she was being ridiculous, but caught Alice's smirk from across the table. I sighed and let my head fall to the table when she winked at me.

Oh, my friends, why can't you ever make anything easy?


	5. Chapter 5 Marlene

Classes breezed by for me, and I had already finished the very small amount of homework that we had received. Dinner also flew by, seeing as Sirius and I still weren't talking. James spent a lot of dinner throwing food at Lily ( I guess he was trying to make up for their "moment") who eventually stormed off. And Alice was sitting with Frank Longbottom and being all lovey dovey with him. I ended up talking to this little 1st year boy named Michael. He was a cute little boy with long dark brown hair that he hid behind, and the sweetest disposition, at first he was scared of me, but eventually came around and realized I wasn't going to hurt him. I promised him I'd look out for him. He gave me a hug. I found myself actually enjoying myself talking to the surprisingly intelligent youngling, which shocked me, but soon enough it was time for me to return to the Gryffindor Common room. It was there that I continued grilling Lily for more details on her and Amos, but she just rolled her eyes and told me it was nothing. I shot a look at Alice who rolled her eyes at me in return, we both cracked up.

"What?" Lily looked back and forth between us.

"Oh nothing," Alice and I replied in unison. I smirked. I knew Lily was at least captivated by Amos, I mean, how could she not be? He's basically Hogwart's Golden Boy. A GOD. He was gorgeous, incredibly smart, polite, and totally someone Lily would go for. He's the Ideal. But if she thinks I didn't notice the little moment between her and Potter she's delirious. However, out of respect for my best friend, I'll leave it be. For now. The sound of Lily and Alice's laughter followed me as I walked over to the couch in front of the fireplace; I grinned and glanced over at them. They were sitting at a table with quills, books and parchment paper strewn around them. Alice's pretty blue eyes were set off by her light blond hair, and sparkled as she talked animatedly to Lily. Lily's green eyes shone in return and her red hair bounced around her when she threw her head back and laughed, the light from the fire cast shadows across her face. I felt someone slide next to me.

Hello Marlene, you look…well how are you this evening?" I turned my head to grin widely at Remus, ignoring the jab at my appearance.

"Hi Rem! I'm good, and you?"

"I am well thank you," He smiled back at me.

"Where's Potter?"

"James is up in the room reading a book on quidditch" We exchanged looks then laughed.

"I'm surprised he isn't down bothering Lily right now,"

"Yes, I must admit I'm rather surprised by that as well, he does love to argue with her. It's because she presents a challenge," I nodded slowly in agreement. Ever since we had first arrived at the school, James and Lily had hated each other and argued at every moment unlucky enough to present it self. Remus and I, being friends with both, often had to act as a peacekeeper between the two of them. Remus is much better at talking sense into them then I am though, he just has a better way with people then I do, particularly when it comes to James and Lily. Maybe one day they'll get along?

"Maybe… I don't know, for our sake I sure hope they do one day!" Remus laughed. I laughed along with him, warmth flooded across my face as I realized I'd spoken out loud. I felt someone plop down on my other side and throw their arm around me. "Marlene, did you finish all your homework?" 

"Yes of course Lily dear," She laughed and gently punched me in the arm,

"Haha, very funnny, Mar. I'm just making sure you don't nearly fail most of your classes _again_," I heaved a dramatic sigh then flung my legs over Remus and stretched out across Lily. Alice took one look at the three of us and burst out laughing, then decided to join us by sitting on my tummy.

"Alice! You're killing me!" Lily snickered, and Alice scooted down a little, putting her legs over Lily's lap and beside my head, and then putting a pillow on Remus's shoulder, snuggled up against the pillow. We sat in comfortable silence, just enjoying being close to each other and the sound of the wood crackling in the fire. Someone yawned, and I felt my eyelids begin to become harder to keep open. The world was starting to become fuzzy, and then it was dark.

My eyes fluttered open and the first thing I noted was the room was very dark. There was a small glow from the fireplace, and a little light coming in from the windows, but that was it. The next thing I noticed was that everyone was asleep. Lily had one hand over me and the other one under her head, her red hair fanned out around her head like a lion's mane. A sudden movement caught my eye, and I looked over to Alice. Alice was on her side arms wrapped around the pillow resting on Remus's shoulder. The light from the fire and the moon caused her hair to look like an almost eerie halo lying around her head. Remus had one leg crossed over the other, his head resting on one hand. His elbow propped up on the armrest, and his shaggy light brown hair covered half his face. I also noticed Saela had curled up into an adorable ball against my side. And then I fell asleep again.


	6. Chapter 6 Lily

**A/N: Here it is! **

**Discalimer:I don't own HP!**

**Chapter 6: Lily**

My class schedule was hectic, the teachers were making life stressful, and Potter had been unnervingly quiet and un-annoying, but sixth year had been the best so far. It was something I happily realized a few weeks into school, and one that would soon be crushed and burned.

I had assumed that Saturday, October 10th would be a perfectly normal, hopefully wonderful, Hogsmead weekend. I was, least to say, wrong. It _did_ start normally, though, so I blamed it on my attempt at being optomistic for once. This is just another in a line of many examples of why no one should ever listen to Alice.

I awoke early, mostly due to the chaos surrounding my dormmates and the word "Hogsmead." This word was also often quickly followed by the word "date," which every teenage girl should take as a signal for duck and cover; especially when you have a best friend like Marlene. I took a moment to observe the frantic disorder and rush that accompanied my friends' panic, sitting back on my bed and laughing quietly to myself as they went crazy.

Marlene, the ever-so-smooth, never flustered around guys one of our group, was frantically putting on eyeliner and swiping on her other makeup while striaghtening her hair. Alice was digging through her trunk, evidently looking for a perfect outfit, and the rest of the girls in our dorm were shuffling around in the same manner.

Sarah, one of the quieter and nicer of the other three girls in our dorm, gave me a smile as she exited the bathroom, untangling her auburn waves with a comb.

"Bathroom's open," she mouthed to me, giving me another smile. I nodded and smiled back, grabbing a pair of jeans and a random top, dodging and diving to avoid the psychos my roommates tranfsormed into for boys, barely making it into the bathroom. After a quick shower I slipped into my chosen clothes, taking a look at what I had absentmindedly grabbed. My pair of dark skinny jeans paired well with the dark grey baby-dool neck, three quarter sleeved tunic. I sighed, running a brush through my hair and saying a quick drying spell, leaving it down and curly. I looked in the mirror critically, trying to decide if makeup was worth the effort. I smeared on some mascara and left the bathroom.

"Lily!" Marlene nearly attacked me before steppign back and holding up two outfits. "Skirt and long sleeve," She lifted up a short, black ruffled skirt with a low cut, bright blue v-neck long sleeved shirt, "or jeans and cute top?" This time she held up black skinny jeans and a cute dark purple embellished tank top. I shrugged.

"Either one will look good, Mar." I told her honestly, searching for my comfortable tennis shoes under my bed. Marlene tutted and pulled on the outfit with the skirt.

"You aren't wearing those shoes," She told me, watching my search with a smirk. I turned around with narrowed eyes just in time to catch the dark brown boots she threw at me. They had a bit of a heel, which for me was too much of a heel. I glared. She smirked. I glared some more. She smirked some more. I sighed, slipping them on. Marlene threw me her brown jacket with a smirk, yet again, before slipping on her own black pumps.

Alice joined us on our way down, evidently having settled on a cute summer dress with a jacket and sandals. I imagined she expected her boyfriend to keep her warm when it inevitably turned chilly.

"Who're you going with?" She asked us both, a question that we obvisouly didn't need to ask her. Marlene was quick to respond.

"Lewis McCroughly, that sexy 7th year Ravenclaw." She was referring to Lewis, who I knew mildly well from Quidditch as he was a Chaser, who was undeniably handsome in a normal way. He was not her type. I refrained from asking her why she was going out with him, deciding instead to let it be and ask later when it would surely come out.

Alice looked at me expectantly.

"No one," I told her simply, ignoring her raised eyebrow, "I'm planning on restocking at Honeydukes and picking out a few more books." Alice and Marlene exchanged a tired look.

"Lily, honey," Alice began, "You're gonna have to date someone at some time, why not now?" I gave her a look that clearly read _What are you, stupid?_

They gave up and we continued on. I picked at my breakfast, mulling over what they had said. Dating... it had been something I had thought about, but it had honestly never been a real possibility. When I was younger the only boy I had known was Sev, and I didn't ever like him like that. Then, Potter had always been in the way of potential dates. But now... there was nothing in my way, nothing stopping me. Except OWLs. And the fact that I really didn't need any distractions. And that teenage boys were often very immature and stupid and not ready for relationships. And, it was so unnecessary. Marlene cut off my thoughts on the cons of dating by throwing something at Black, who appeared to be ignoring her.

I giggled quietly, watching the syrupy pancake slide down Black's face, coating his hair and skin in the sticky substance. He glaredwitheringly at Marlene who smiled innocently and wiggled her fingers at him before turning back to me and telling me the pros and cons of Hogsmead. I would have been listening intently, truly! But Potter's eyes met mine and for a few seconds I found myself lost in the sea of hazel, a gold speckled with green and brown. Alice gently nudged my foot and I snapped my eyes back to my plate, fighting the blush that was rising. My friends snickered. No! I reprimanded myself! That dang thing kept happening. And it wasn't just getting lost in his eyes, either. It was staring at his hair, or absentmindedly wondering about how he pulled off his glasses so handsomely, and it only got worse.

And this whole thing got started because we had to learn about Amortentia in potions and Potter was my assigned partner. Stupid stupid stupid Lily. I reprimanded myself. Because yes, learning about Amortentia hadn't been so bad until I had recognized the scents. My mom's cookies, a cinnamon-y smell and the Quidditch pitch. The last two had greatly confused me. Until Potter was moved to sit next to me and be my partner and I smelled those two scents on him. Kill. Me. Now.

When my friends continued to giggle and shoot me suggestive looks I glared, mumbling "Shuddup" which only served to make them laugh harder. They, of course, knew nothing of my Amortentia problems or my feelings on that matter. But they were both bright enough to know what was going on. Why couldn't I have stupid friends?

We got up after finishing our meals and met outside with the rest of third and above years, and after quickly passing by Filch, I watched my friends run off to meet their dates. I started off grabbing a carriage and groaning when the Marauders joined me. Then, thank Godric, a blessing came. A blessing with a crystalline bell voice, strawberry blonde curls and bright blue eyes.

"There still room in here, Lily?" Maybelle, my third roomate asked before hopping in, not waiting for an answer. She didn't need to, Maybelle was barely five feet tall and very tiny, which always made me wonder how she survived playing Chaser alongside Marlene. She squeezed inbetween Remus and myself, Black, Potter and Pettigrew sitting across from us. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Maybelle started up about the Quidditch season and Remus and I conversed about OWLs over her head.

When we piled out of the carriage the boys set off in the direction of Zonko's and Maybelle beamed at me.

"Wanna hang out toda, Lily?" The energetic girl, the youngest fifth year at Hogwarts, asked. I nodded, smiling as she drug me through the shops. Maybelle was a good friend of mine, if only because of the mutual horror of sharing a dorm with Trixie Callaghen, a pureblooded nightmare who, to put it nicely, had lots of boyfriends.

I couldn't remember the last time I had had that much fun at Hogsmead, something that had lost the new-shiny-toy quality at the end of fourth year. I tried to recall if I had ever been to Hogsmead with Maybelle, and realized that I never had. Which really wasn't all that surprising, the girl had social circles in nearly every year and house.

I had the best time in a little hand me down shop that had very...ostentanious clothing, we tried it on with the oddest combinations and looked at all the strange nick-nacks. Of course, that was tied with our run-in with Trixie.

Trixie has classic pureblood looks, sharp facial structure, defined cheekbones, long, thick, dark hair and dark eyes. She also used them for bad. As Maybelle put it, she was a "scarlet woman." She was also hoplessly slaving after Black, whom I had recently noticed seemed to be spending a bit too much time staring after Marlene

We were walking out from Honeydukes, both of our arms laden with sweets, when said "scarlet woman" nearly ran us over... Okay, so it may have partially been our fault because we were walking and talking to each other and couldn't really see around our load of candy, but the essence was the same.


End file.
